'Don't waste time on models': Nandan Nilekani explains why data is more important in AI for India

In a compelling address at the Global Technology Summit last week, Nandan Nilekani, a veteran in the tech industry, emphasised the importance of data over the obsession with models in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The discussion revolved around the evolution from Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to the rapidly growing Digital Public Intelligence, highlighting the transformative potential of this shift for India's technological landscape.

"The data is what is missing right; we don't have Indian language data, we don't have audio data, we don't have local data. So fix the data problem," Nilekani emphatically stated. He advocated for organising data in a model-agnostic manner, harnessing open-source models, and fine-tuning them with indigenous data, predicting that within the next three years, models will become a commodity. "Don't waste your time on some model rat race," he added.

Addressing concerns about restrictions on open-source models, Nilekani expressed optimism that the market forces would drive towards permissibility. He highlighted the significance of ensuring models' permissibility for wider usage and competitiveness.

“I'm making a bet that open-source models will become more and more permissible. There's also going to be competition. If I have two open-source models and one of them is permissible and one is restrictive, I'll use the permissible one. Markets will take care of this. You want your model to flourish, then you please make it permissible,” Nilekani said.

The DPI journey was elucidated, underscoring its profound impact on solving India's multifaceted challenges. From the groundbreaking Aadhaar platform, providing identity to over 1.3 billion people, to enabling electronic KYC, which catalysed the surge in bank accounts through the Jandhan Yojana program, Nilekani painted a vivid picture of how DPI has shaped India's digital landscape.

The discussion delved into the revolutionary strides made in digital payments through UPI, which burgeoned from zero transactions to a staggering 11 billion per month, empowering over 350 million individuals and 50 million merchants across the nation.

Nilekani championed the concept of DPI, characterised by interoperability, reusable building blocks, innovation, and a focus on security and privacy. He highlighted the emergence of digital capital, emphasising how transactions in the digital realm generate data capital, revolutionising India's credit system and driving economic growth.

Transitioning to the pivotal role of AI, Nilekani stressed the need to demystify complexity and democratise knowledge accessibility, particularly in regional languages, empowering farmers and individuals across diverse sectors. He accentuated ongoing AI initiatives in various domains, including language learning in schools, healthcare, agriculture, and public services.

The crux of Nilekani's vision lies in applying AI from an 'outside-in' perspective, focusing on compelling use cases that address real-life challenges faced by a billion people. Emphasising the need for smaller, task-specific models trained on relevant data, he underscored the importance of affordable AI accessible to the masses.

In essence, Nilekani's profound insights spotlighted the transition from DPI to DPI powered by AI, accentuating the potential to amplify and solve India's challenges through strategic data-centric AI deployment.

Nilekani is an influential Indian entrepreneur and technologist known for co-founding Infosys, one of India's largest IT services companies. He served as Infosys' CEO and later became the Chairman. Nilekani also played a significant role in implementing India's unique identification project, Aadhaar, as the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). His expertise in technology, business, and public service has made him a prominent figure in India's corporate and social landscape.

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